1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image formation device and its control method, and particularly to an image formation device and its control method which are designed to selectively display an optimal menu screen according to the connection status of an optional device connected to the image formation device having an operation panel formed by an LCD (liquid crystal display) or the like, and thus are capable of improving its usability for operators.
2. Description of the Related Art
An operation screen is displayed on an LCD (liquid crystal display) of an operation panel provided in an image formation device such as a copier, a printer, or a facsimile. Conventionally, this operation screen includes plural menu screens formed in a hierarchical structure. A desired menu option is selected on an initially displayed menu screen. If the selected menu option includes further options to be selected, a subsequent selection menu screen is displayed to display those menu options. The selection menu screens are displayed sequentially in this manner to allow the user to select a desired menu options thereon.
The display sequence of the operation screens having such a hierarchical structure is preset before factory shipment of the image formation device. A function setting menu screen also has a hierarchical structure in which plural function setting items including those of optionally connected devices are managed by the hierarchical structure, and the function setting menu screens are sequentially displayed according to the preset hierarchical structure regardless of the connection status of an optional device connected by the user to the image formation device.
When the user performs a predetermined operation using such operation screens that are displayed in the preset sequence according to the hierarchical structure, a function setting menu screen may be displayed on the LCD to prompt the user to select whether a certain optional device is to be used or not even though no such optional device is connected to the image formation device. This causes a problem in usability.
Therefore, there is a demand for a method to display an operation screen in a highly usable manner, with its hierarchical structure being optimized according to the connection status of an optional device connected to the image formation device. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-240229 proposes a recording system the usability of which is improved by optimizing the hierarchical structure of menus displayed on a display panel such as an LCD according to the connection status of an optionally connected apparatus.
The recording system proposed by Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-240229 is designed to optimize an optimal operation menu for an optional device such as an automatic cutter or a barcode verifier connected thereto, that is displayed by an LCD for the system user, by the method of detecting the connection status of the optional device by means of a sensor and an I/O port, and dynamically changing the hierarchical structure of the operation menu according to a result of the detection.
In the recording system described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-240229, however, if the optional device requires various settings to be performed on the display panel before using the same, these settings are added into the menu regardless of whether or not the optional device is connected. Thus, the recording system has a problem in the usability in the default settings.